Time for another Blog-a-Thon! This should be a fun one. Return to the 80s is teaming up with Dubsism for the Box Office Jocks Blog-a-Thon. It will be taking place Super Bowl Weekend, February 2nd and 3rd, 2019. If you would like to submit an article or podcast about an athlete who starred in a movie/television show, or a movie about an athlete, please comment below, or email me at returntothe80s@gmail.com.
If you aren’t familiar with Dubsism, it’s a combination of two things which usually don’t go together; rabid enthusiasm for all things sport, and an infatuation with classic cinema. I think that came about the first time I got a John Wayne western in lieu of a rained-out baseball game. Thus began the double-helixing of sports and movies in my oft-concussed brain.
To make the proverbial long story short, I discovered blogging, and then I discovered the classic film blog-a-thon. I dipped my toe into that world by offering some episodes of my series “Sports Analogies Hidden in Classic Movies.” The classic film blogging community has given me such a positive response that I’m jumping in with both feet by hosting my first blog-a-thon! Since it’s my first time, Paul S. from Return to the 80’s was gracious enough to join me to make sure I don’t bump into…
View original post 732 more words
Awesome song that has that eary-mid ’80s sound. And yes that’s Leonard Nimoy’s voice as Mr. Spock from the Star Trek episode “Errand of Mercy”, which was the first time we saw the Klingons in the Star Trek universe.
Wow, my two least favorite ’80s songs are both on the same countdown! First there was “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”. And now there’s this Neil Diamond cover.
Awesome rocker, which was U2’s first single off their Rattle and Hum album. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
If you noticed that the last three bands in this countdown have an abbreviation/acronym as a band name, welcome to my brain.
It is in the middle of Fall, and this 1988 Olympic theme song is still going strong.
After Slippery When Wet launched Bon Jovi in the stratosphere, they did not let up, as they followed up with the incredible New Jersey album, with “Bad Medicine” as the lead single.
Kylie Minogue was the third act to make this song a top 5 hit, starting with LIttle Eva in 1962 and Grand Funk Railroad in 1974. This song was a locomotion for Minogue, as it started as a hit in her home country of Australia. Then it made it’s way to Europe and Asia, then came to the U.S. and Canada.
We have another cover here, as Phil Collins recorded this Mindbenders 1965/66 hit for the Buster movie soundtrack. Between this song, and “Two Hearts”, you would think the movie was going to be a blockbuster. However, I still haven’t seen it, and I don’t know anybody who ever has.
This song would go on to be a number one hit next week. The Escape Club the only British artist to have a No. 1 hit in the United States while never charting in the UK.
I think we can track the division in the country back to this song. I personally think it’s a fun song, although I did get very sick of it. But, a lot of people had this extreme hatred of this song. And seeing John Stamos on drums really sent them over the edge! This song would be their last hit on the Hot 100.
Were the remaining 3 members of Duran Duran singing this to their former guitarist, Andy Taylor? I don’t know, but it’s a pretty cool tune.
This is the second “Don’t Be Cruel” of the countdown. But, this one is a Bobby Brown original, when he was at the top of his game.
Only in the ’80s could you go from a great new jack swing song to an awesome glam metal power ballad in the same countdown! Yes ’80s, we didn’t know what we had till you were gone.
Chicago is one of my all-time favorite bands, and I could not get enough of this song. This power ballad, written by Diane Warren, is Chicago’s largest selling single. It topped the charts for two weeks, matching the chart success of the group’s “If You Leave Me Now” (1976) and “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” (1982).
Giant Steps was a pop duo from England. This was their only top 40 hit. It came off of their lone album, The Book of Pride.
This jazzy song was the seventh and final single to be released from the Faith album. It was also the least successful single of the album, only peaking at #5. Slacker.
The synthpop duo, Erasure, finally broke through in the U.S. with this song,as it peaked at #12. This was Erasure’s sixth consecutive U.K. Top 20 hit.
This mashup of Peter Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird” will soon top the charts (December 3, 1988). Kudos for taking two overplayed classic rock songs, and making them fresh again. Only to become overplayed itself. I’m liking it again, 30 years later.
Great ballad by the British pop group, Breathe. It would go on to peak at #3 on the Hot 100, and top the Billboard adult contemporary chart, Breathe’s only single to accomplish this feat.
What is it with all the questions? This song is OK. But, I had gotten sick of it before it was officially released. It was used in a national TV commercial for Michelob.
Great way to start the countdown today! I loved Vixen from the time they first came out and released this song. I actually had this on a 45. If you like this song, you should check out Vixen’s entire self-titled album. Every song is great, and the album would be one of my top “desert island” choices. It should also be noted that Richard Marx was one of the writers of this song.
I’ll be happy when this annoying song is over.
OK, I’m happy now. This is a pretty cool cover of Elvis’ hit. This is a good follow-up to Cheap Trick’s comeback #1 smash hit, “The Flame”.
This awesome song by the British band When in Rome, reached up to #11. It had a bit of a resurgence in recent years, as it was featured in the cult movie Napoleon Dynamite in 2004.
The hits keep on coming! I guess I was on a 45 kick in 1988, as I also owned this one. This song was written by one-time Sammy Hagar keyboardist Jesse Harms.
This was the second single released from Rod Stewart’s awesome Out of Order album. I had lost hope in Stewart staying “forever young” as he was only focusing on big band music in recent years. However, he just released a new pop album, Blood Red Roses on September 28, 2018.
I had totally forgotten about this song. This was the other song released from Elton John’s Reg Strikes Back album, after “I Don’t Wanna Go On with You Like That”. With the exception of a few songs, I still much prefer his 70s music.
This song was inspired for the Girl, Shannon Rubicam, when she saw an actual falling star at one of Whitney Houston’s concerts at the Greek Theatre. The folowing is from Wikipedia: “Initially, the duo did not consider recording it, and instead submitted the song to Clive Davis hoping he would decide to use it on Houston’s next album. He rejected it, suggesting that it did not suit her. The song was then offered to and recorded by Belinda Carlisle for her 1987 release Heaven on Earth, at the insistence of her label, but Carlisle disliked it and refused to include it on the album.”
This was Anita Baker’s biggest hit on the Hot 100 as it would go on to peak at #3. It also topped the Billboard R&B chart for 2 weeks. It also won Grammys for Best Female R&B Vocal performance and Best R&B Song.
This was never one of my favorite Def Leppard songs. However, it was their only #1 hit. I have warmed up to it over the years, and love it now. Part of the reason is the nostalgia factor, and part of it is that it is a great song!